Salvation Taco review

August 5, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Just because the two-bite-sized taco in your right hand bears no resemblance whatsoever to the ones you ate at that cute little Tex-Mex cocina outside of Houston, or the ones they deep-fried and served from oars on the beach in Ixtapa, doesn’t mean that this isn’t a taco. In fact apart from the tortilla press churning out 5 inch discs of flattened maza at the edge of the bar, there’s absolute nothing authentic about April Bloomfield’s Murray Hill Mexican gastropub Salvation Taco. And you know what else? I don’t care!

Located on the ground floor of the Pod Hotel, Bloomfield and partner Ken Friedman have put together yet another reservation-less hangout for food freaks amongst a cacophony of loud colored walls, noisily tiled tables and apple green ceilings – with the odd quasi-religious deity here and there. There’s definitely something enjoyably naughty going on here – and everyone seems to be in on it. If you’re stuck for conversation, just point at something around the room and trust me, the rest will happen.

Empanadas

While many of the items sound Mexican, they only bear a distant relationship to their forebears. The menu starts off coyly enough with a dozen “Snacks” from Spicy Nuts to Chips and Guacamole and before you know it – you are staring down at the cutest little torpedo-shaped dough wedges filled with gooey Chihuaua Cheese and Serrano ham. Unlike any other Empanadas you’ve ever tried, the good news is: these will explode in a single mouthful. The bad news: too few mouthfuls to go around!

Mexican Sticky Rice Tamale

We skipped over the Pig’s Head Tostada (with crispy ears and pan-seared cheeks) and tried the Mexican Sticky Rice Tamale instead. Surrounded by a banana leaf, little chunks of aromatic Chinese sausage and morsels of pulled pork are dotted over a small, hot square of rice cake in a sublime sauce.

Under the “Taco Dinners” it was a tough toss-up between the Roasted Lamb Shoulder, that the couple next to us were busy tearing apart and shoving into fresh tortillas topped with Cucumber Pico de Gallo and Crema, or the Beer Battered Fish Filet with Tartar and Mayan mayonnaise, (our enthusiastic and bespectacled waitress’s favorite) but we finally settled on the Korean BBQ. This prompted a visit from one of the kitchen staff who proceeded to cut a large and delectably marinated, fire-roasted loin with a large pair of scissors, while firing off a barrage of questions about our heritage, our commute, our love life and other vital curiosities as she explained the tray of flavor accoutrements: crunchy pickled Daikon radish, fresh scallions, house-made Kimchee, Furikake and seaweed spices and a thick (and liberally salted) hot sauce – all the makings of the most inauthentic Taco ever.

Korean BBQ Accoutrements

Thereafter the menu shrinks again with half a dozen different kitchen-assembled Tacos – yielding 3 per order. From the Carne Asada with sweet and spicy grilled Nopales (prickly pear), peppers and onions, to the Roasted Cauliflower with baby Farro held together by the most unbelievably delicious curried Crema – the kind that could easily transform anything into a delectable delight – backpacks and roof-tiles included.

For desert I only managed to get a whiff of the steaming hot, freshly fried and sugared Churros with a little pot of hot Mexican chocolate for dipping as I lingered (probably a little bit too long in retrospect) at the table next to us on our way out.

Cauliflower Curry

This might be Bloomfield’s irreverent salute to all things south of the border, but south of my midtown office after a long day at work, it is without a doubt my salvation (and I didn’t even mention the cocktails!)

http://salvationtaco.com/

Peasant review

August 3, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / 1 Comment

There are myriad reasons why New Yorker’s prefer not to eat Italian food in Little Italy. Too many gullible tourists who think it’s authentic, too many look-a-like rooms boasting near-identical menus, too much pressure from manipulative, apron-wasted, hair-slicked-back sidewalk talkers, too many other good options vying for their dining dollars, or perhaps because one can only eat just so many meatballs and just so much red sauce.

Cannolicchi (Razor clams)

It’s therefore doubly curious that Frank DeCarlo’s rustic exposed vintage brick, concrete-floored, wooden bench filled ristorante Peasant not only dared to defy his neighbors by not succumbing to any of the Italo-American staples and (quite literally) build his own wood-fire oven and rotisserie kitchen, but that his success story has endured the renaming and reshaping of the neighborhood some 15 years later. If you ask any New Yorker if they’ve ever eaten at Peasant, they will probably say: “Ages ago. Is it still around?” Not only still around but DeCarlo has been consistently packing them in long before, during and (not surprisingly) after Michele Obama and the first daughters’ recent visit.

The menu runs the gamut of delicacies from earth, sea and sky, with just enough flavor restraint to allow the benefit of cooking at over 700 degrees to really pay off. The Acciuga E Radice salad is a wonderfully simple combination of mild white anchovies, radishes and crusty croutons tossed in a complimentary red-wine vinaigrette. The appropriately named Polpi in Purgatorio (Octopus in purgatory) though immaculately tamed in a garlic and chili butter would have welcomed a touch more tenderness, but the white-wine, garlic and breadcrumb encrusted Cannolicchi (Razor Clams) were a home run.

Spaghettini Ricci

The primi piatti selections include a Risotto, a Gnocchi and a tight handful of pastas including a rich and decadent Spaghettini Ricci laden with roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh sea urchin. Even though the fire-crusted-skinned Orata alla Griglia (Grilled Sea Bream) looked rather lonely on top of a rosemary quilt with only a tiny goblet of herb butter for company, the pure ocean flavor and perfectly moist texture is indubitably the best I have ever eaten.

Whole roasted Rabbit

But the money on the table has to be the whole-roasted Rabbit. Although not on the menu, (my hunch says it will be very soon) the leporid is heartily stuffed with rosemary, (clearly chef DeCarlo’s favorite go-to herb) and then tightly wrapped in guanciale (pork jowels) which caramelize around the skin forming a smoky, salty and incredibly fragrant aroma. I realize that the thought of a rabbit stuck between the cheeks of a pig might put one over the edge, but the combination of these two worlds on one plate is utterly delicious and completely unforgettable.

Rhubarb and Berry Stew

Somewhat more forgettable were the ten-more-minutes-on-the-cooker-would-have-done-it Rhubarb and Berry stew, and the overly-dense Chocolate Ganache, but thanks to our waiter’s theatrically gesticulating descriptions, via his thick yet disarmingly authentic accent, the dessert options are certainly worth hearing about.

http://www.peasantnyc.com/reservations/dinner/

Chi Spacca – Los Angeles review

July 21, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

The newest venture from the Mozza group is an uncompromising carnivore’s delight. Wedged between Mozza and Mozza2Go on what is fast becoming Hancock Park’s hungriest block, Nancy Silverton and her team have given birth to Chi Spacca – a holy shrine to flesh. The rust colored, black shelved room boasts a demonstration-style kitchen that harkens to the space’s former life as an experimental cooking lab and slaughtery. Chef de Cuisine Matt Colby’s comprehensive knowledge of protein and all its complexities, yields a daring menu that shows off his proudest contributions to the LA food scene.

Affettati Misti

Sectioned into unrelated chapters rather than sequential courses, Colby offers diners (of all appetites) a rather arbitrary range of small plates including ricotta stuffed Squash Blossoms, honeycomb and hazelnut adorned Pecorino, a selection of Pane Bianco (Bruschettas) and house made Pickles.

Focaccia Di Recco

There’s no mistaking his Focaccia Di Recco for any conventional Focaccia you’ve ever tasted. This one is a crusty, fluff-less flatbread, smothered in a melted salty-sweet Stracchino cheese and dribbled with olive oil.His on-site salumeria houses more than a ton of meat (quite literally), aging and curing for up to 2 years before being served on planks as Affettati Misti, a heavenly selection of salami’s, lardo wrapped grissini sticks, a coarse butchers paté and the most delicious fritters made from pigs trotters and chunks of smoky pork.

Salads and sides include a wondrous roasted Cauliflower smothered in a rich Bagna Cauda (anchovy, garlic, lemon) and grilled Broccoli in a lemon vinaigrette.

Bistecca Fiorentina

The larger plates grow in portion and price from the delicate bacon wrapped veal Sweetbreads to a honkin’ 50oz Bone-in New York Steak. Traffic-stopping favorites are the Milk-Roasted Pork Loin and the Bistecca Fiorentina (Florentine steak), which requires 45 minutes to roast and arrives with the bone upright, (obviously proclaiming man’s victorious domination over the cow) and a domino row of salt charred (yet rare) medallions of melt-in-your-mouth, succulent, tender, dry-aged beef in a pool of olive oil. No sauce, no spice, no need. (Just the faintly muted sound of a grown man crying!)

http://www.opentable.com/chi-spacca-reservations-los-angeles?restref=64306

Little Sister – Los Angeles review

July 9, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Salt and Pepper Lobster

If ever held to gunpoint, I would probably relent and confess that Southeast Asian cuisine is indeed my favorite. But that doesn’t mean I’m a complete pushover when it comes to lemongrass, fish sauce, ginger and chilies. In fact my expectations only heighten with every attempt at that very delicate balance between spicy, sour, sweet, salty, nutty and citrusy. Very few toques do it well, but California native chef Tin Vuong’s unapologetic approach to the flavors of his heritage is nothing short of a Cirque du Soleil Big Top extravaganza for the taste buds.

Vuong’s third restaurant Little Sister is rather quizzically located in sleepy Manhattan Beach, (not exactly the food capital of Southern California) but his following is far reaching and his reputation is deservedly growing.

The room is framed in concrete, glass and wine with antique cobbler lamps and vintage schoolroom chairs that feel cool and eclectic yet utterly comfortable for the task at hand.

The menu is vast, comprehensive and rather daunting for the beach crowd in search of something “simple without cilantro” or “not too spicy”. And in addition to the borderline ebullient wait staff recommendations, you are summarily warned that the food arrives when the food arrives!

Duck Sate

The first to appear were two of the Eastside 626 Provisions (the area code for the densely Vietnamese San Gabriel valley area): crispy and minty Fried Okra with tomato, lime and fenugreek and the sweet and tangy Ma La Pickles with Szechuan peppercorns and crushed peanuts, a gentle warm-up for the sharp ginger tamarind Duck Sate kebabs over caramelized pear chunks with almonds.

Grilled Prawns Salad

The tandoori-styled Grilled Prawns with lemongrass-cilantro tossed green papaya, mango and cashews was the perfect curtain-raiser for the x.o. Pea Tendrils with a shock of lime and the deep, dark ocean flavor of dried scallops. Next to arrive was the Kima Platha, an ultra thin crispy flatbread envelope stuffed with mint and chili infused lamb surrounded by a sea of curried lentil dipping sauce.

Kima Platha Lamb flatbread

And for the most daring act of the evening (preluded with shell bowl and steaming towels): the show-stopping and utterly delicious Salt n Pepper Lobster. Sectioned and cracked in advance of being flash-fried with seasoned panko, the crustacean pieces are then wok fried with a bright and merry medley of shallots and chilies to engulf their flavors both shell-side and flesh-side. And for an encore, any remaining lobster meat is then returned to the kitchen for a crispy jasmine rice stir-fry with strips of smoky Thai pork sausage. Neither the quirky choices for a trio of desserts and gelatos, nor the equally arbitrary French cheese selection could dampen this culinary standing ovation.

http://littlesistermb.com/reservations/

x.o. Pea Tendrils

Pig and Khao review

July 8, 2014August 19, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Turon Banana Fritters

Comparatively speaking, adding any derivative of the word “Pig” to the name of your venture has been a pretty good omen for many restaurateurs in New York. Not sure whether it’s fun, courage or luck that the “other white meat” offers, but it certainly seems to translate into popularity and longevity. There’s April Bloomfield’s furiously acclaimed Spotted Pig, Danny Meyer’s impossible-to-get-into Maialino (piglet in Italian), happy-hour all-time-favorite Swine, Brooklyn’s BBQ indulgence palace Fette Sau (fat pig in German), sandwich palace Porchetta (deboned pork roast in Italian), lunchtime office crowd favorite chain Potbelly, or Traif (anything on the “verboten” list for good Jews – such as pork or shellfish in Yiddish) and so it’s scarcely surprising that newcomer and Top Chef alum Leah Cohen is already thinking of opening a gastropub knock-off of her South-East Asian hipster canteen Pig and Khao.

Burmese Eggplant Salad with Shrimp Chips

Whatever happens to be on the grill or in the fryer permeates the simple rice-noodle-thin slither of a room with open kitchen and back patio. The overwhelmingly Thai menu (thankfully omits any of the “Big 5” dishes) includes some Filipino and Vietnamese influences as well.
Cohen’s cocktails are every bit as intense and flavor-forward as her food. From her take on a Negroni with grapefruit and cardamom, to a chamomile-infused Rye with elderflower and a “scotch rinse.”
The Burmese Eggplant Salad is like an Asian, peanut, mint and shrimp version of a Babaganoush dip – made even more unstoppably edible thanks to the homemade slightly sugary shrimp chips.

Green Mango Salad

The Green Mango Salad sitting under a dome of char-grilled chicken and dried shrimp and cashews for crunch, bathing in that unmistakably flavorful and salivation provoking fish-sauce/lemon grass/chili dressing, feels a bit like the big brother of the Green Papaya Noodle Salad with grilled shrimp in a tamarind chili dressing. Both noodle dishes are crowd favorites. The Shan Noodles with ground chicken and turmeric, and the heavenly Khao Soi .

Khao Soi Noodles

A velvety smooth, Thai-iced-tea colored coconut curry with chicken, shallots and mustard greens topped with a centerpiece of egg noodles – the bottom half of which are softly submerged in the curry, leaving the top half exposed and crispy.

For our pork dish we tried the meat-falling-off-the-bones BBQ Baby Back Ribs. While the exact ingredients of Cohen’s barbecue sauce remains a secret, suffice it to say I would happily lap up the gingery-garlicky-syrupy deliciousness even if it were poured over MTA subway tickets or second-hand tennis shoes.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

For dessert we tried the Turon, which is a banana smartly dressed up in a rice pastry jacket, before being flash fried and perfectly paired next to salted caramel ice-cream and chocolate syrup.
It’s fairly safe to say that Clinton Street has yet another runaway hit on it’s sidewalks.

http://pigandkhao.com/contact/

Barbuto review

July 1, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

There’s nothing new about food being an addictively mood-altering drug. But less obviously the entire dining experience can also heavily influence your frame of mind. So no matter how hard you are trying to be a witty contributor to the conversation, by practicing those well-rehearsed one-liners on new ears, when your focus is distracted by a brusque waiter with sub-zero peripheral vision who seems to be the only one in the entire state who cannot see your wildly flailing arms in search of a replacement fork, or when one of your guests’ appetizers seems to be coming from Cairo on the back of a camel, even the best food won’t do much to bring back your mojo. So when a decade-old, all-time local favorite like Jonathan Waxman’s rustic Italian Barbuto ceaselessly delivers sensational evenings to remember, you can’t help but do your happy dance.

With the large garage doors open on two sides, Barbuto spills out onto the West Village sidewalks like a prime corner on an alleyway in Rome. The open kitchen feels fresh and approachable – but you wouldn’t dare get in the way of the furious activity that delivers hit after hit to table after table, night after night, year after year.

“jw” Pollo al Forno

While there is an abundance of seasonality to the menu, it is also a multi-year collection of some of New York’s favorite dishes, so much so that the first items (below the drawing of a bearded mutt) are Waxman’s two published cookbooks “A Great American Cook” and “Italian my way”. The service is both fun and flawless. Rapport is obviously encouraged and our waitress instantly became our fifth guest at the table.

Risotto Frutti di Mare

This week’s Bruschetta hosted a generous helping of Burrata and a dribble of Balsamic and two highly unlikely but utterly delectable companions: strawberries and pistachios. The Risotto Frutti di Mare with succulent shrimp and scallops couldn’t have possibly been any creamier. The Colorado Lamb with Bell pepper and onions had a thrilling but subtle spike of heat along with a luxurious au jus, while the recipe for the pork/veal/beef Bolognaise served with Gemelli pasta deserves to be immortalized behind glass, right there next to the Declaration of Independence.

Patate

The blisteringly crispy Patate (potatoes cooked with garlic, hand-smashed and then deep-fried before being sprinkled with Pecorino and rosemary) are so ridiculously devourable – little wonder they were able to stage their own disappearing act.

But the dish that will (hopefully) never vanish from the menu is Waxman’s illustrious “JW” Pollo al Forno with salsa verde. The pan roasted half-chicken couldn’t be more simply prepared with a little olive oil, lemon, sea salt and pepper, but the countless interruptions for basting make this flightless bird soar higher than any other. Topped with a mouthwateringly flavorful green mix of fresh herbs including tarragon, oregano, sage and mint with anchovy and garlic – you have the recipe for sold-out tables well into the next decade.

Desserts include many local favorites too, like the thick, creamy and indulgent Chocolate Budino served in a Capuccino cup with two biscotti or the Chocolate Coconut Cake, which is what happens when Tiramisu, Coconuts and Almonds are left alone to make a baby.

Chocolate Budino

Barbuto might mean “bearded” in Italian, but for most of us it means “Be back!”

http://www.opentable.com/barbuto-reservations-new-york?rid=3232&restref=3232

Estela review

June 27, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

It’s relatively unlikely that you are familiar with the name Ignacio Mattos. But heed my prediction: this Uruguayan James Beard Foundation finalist is dangerously close to becoming the next big name in modern American food! Having served under slow-food legend Alice Waters at Chez Panisse and South American grilling sensation Francis Mallman along with stints at Isa and Il Buco, his unique style is rather tough to define. His recently debuted Soho boutique restaurant Estela showcases a healthy influence of Spanish, some Carribean, a dash or two of Japanese and just enough Italian to call it American!

Endive salad

While Mattos prides himself on presenting “approachable” food, I found his plating style quite the opposite – almost bashful. Instead of displaying an overt visual focus for the main ingredient, many of his dishes seem to conceal them beneath a forest of obscurities, creating a “surprise” as you wield your knife through the edible jungle.

Beef Tartare

His uncategorized menu of sharing plates grows in portion and price as you journey from north to south with snacks like Pickled Carrots and Salted Cod with Potato, to salads that include Kampachi with Apple or Celery with Mint, small plates such as Farro with Wax Beans, and then onto some hearty mains like Cod with Favas or Quail with Broccoli Rabe.

The Beef and Bison combined Tartare with sunchokes and capers is layered with dark flavors, and the crunch is an unsuspected bonus. The circular display of Endive leaves obscures the wondrous anchovied walnuts with Ubriaco rosso (Italian cheese aged in crushed red grapes).

Burrata with Salsa Verde

Everything I’d heard about the Burrata with Salsa Verde is true. The most luscious, earthy, dark green herb puree you’ve even come across slowly soaks into the toast supporting the white, velvety, creamy goodness above. Hard to believe that I have never tried Mussels in Escabeche (vinegar marinade) before, but the unique and almost floral tang won me over instantly.

Mussels in Escabeche

In the interest of time, forgive me as I gloss over the delectable Scallops with Peas, the unmissable Fried Arroz Negro (black rice) and the incomparable Pork with Potatoes and Borani (Persian eggplant and yoghurt) so that I can relive and re-salivate over the crystalized salt-crusted rib-eye of Beef with eggplant and leeks finished with the creamiest Taleggio cheese ever. Oh, and don’t be surprised if someone gives him a big ol’ culinary award for the Panna Cotta finished with honey and vinegar. Yes, vinegar!

https://rez.opentable.com/reservation/start/6742?source=selfhost

Aldea review

June 25, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Portuguese Baby Squid “a la Plancha”

Ever since I started traveling to the region, I have become a huge fan of Iberian cuisine. I love their confidence with the use of bold flavors and colors, and the way they embrace local favorites with just enough respect to allow them to break some of the rules without taking themselves (and their ingredients) too seriously. The snag is how to conjure up diner curiosity beyond the proverbial paella or typical tapas.

Enter George Mendes, whose hands have tickled the pots and pans at places like Basque maestro Martin Berasategui’s three-star Michelin restaurant in San Sebastian as well as Toqueville in Union Square, and who eventually opened his own restaurant Aldea in the Flatiron district.

The tranquil and alluring slither of a room grows outward and upward as you make your way past the various elements of nature: water, wind, earth, sky etc. that set the tone for a calm and relaxed adventure as the dishes start arriving.

Big Eye Tuna Crudo

Ask any Lisbonite and you will learn that there are 365 ways to prepare Bacalao (Salted cod). Mendes offers four: with poached egg, in a curried bean stew, in an onion and potato casserole and as Croquetas, which are the size and weight of fried ping-pong balls. Light, fluffy, potato-ey and gone in sixty seconds! The faint saltiness of the West Coast Sea Urchin Toast loses the battle to the surprising but very welcome mustard seed as the dish’s main flavor driver. Similarly the deep-green cucumber broth gives the Big Eye Tuna Crudo a refreshing boost that cuts through the yuzu-olive oil. The Portuguese Baby Squid “a la Plancha” is layered with wonderful flavors and colors, from the black squid ink, to the red strips of smokey Chorizo, to the tender Calamari rings. (But I either missed or failed to notice any ginger butter.)

Dayboat Diver Scallops

While the Portuguese Sardines in escabeche (vinegar marinade) didn’t level up to much more than the sum of their parts, the Dayboat Diver Scallops were what it’s all about. Simple, simple preparation with beets for color, porcini’s for texture and a pop of tart from gooseberry halves – a tough dish to beat. The Pastel de Nata (the famously celebrated, age-old pastries from Belém with their crispy shells that give way to freshly baked oven-warm custard, topped with cinnamon and sugar) more than delivered a sublime final act.

http://www.aldearestaurant.com/reservations/

Sauce review

June 23, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Sauce Trattoria

From a restaurateur’s point of view, starting an Italian family-recipe business in this over-catered-to city filled with labels, names and fussy eaters is like trying to be a one-armed trapeze artiste in total darkness. Unless of course you happen to create a unique experience that sets you apart from all the others – like Sauce.

Frank Prisinzano’s Lower East Side neighborhood trattoria (with in-house slaughtery) boasts a number of idealistic principles which while not exclusive (farm-to-table, snout-to-tail, start-to-finish) they all contribute to delivering unpretentious and always satisfying favorite dishes with a just-like-Grandma-made-it authenticity.

Even before an Aperol Spritz, the oddly organized menu can be a bit of a challenge, but if you settle on any of the crowd-pleasers, you won’t be disappointed. The breaded and fried chicken Alla Milanese, the Steak Tagliata for two, the grass-fed Meatballs in tomato gravy are all perfectly, perfectly fine, but the prime spotlight is stolen by a game-changer simply known as “The Plank”!

“The Plank”

The ceremonial ritual starts like the parting of the Red Sea. A 10-inch wide boulevard of crockery, cutlery and stemware is cleared from the center of the table. Next, a pale wooden shingle is lowered to occupy the space. From the first of several dispensers, a ladleful of soft polenta is shmeared over the plank, quickly followed by a thick, red squiggle of grass-fed bolognaise. And just as the sauce starts to sink into the white cloud, it gets a generous dusting of freshly ground Parmesan. And to complete the Tricolore, some very green Ligurian olive oil is drizzled from end to end.

By the time you have sectioned off a scoopful of this medley onto your plate, it doesn’t look like much. But as my partner so prophetically pointed out – it wasn’t going to remain on my plate for very long! Only after the fourth helping did it finally dawn on me that the polenta was merely the delivery mechanism (like a fluffy cheese-infested conveyor belt) that kept the rich, hearty and spectacularly authentic Bolognaise coming.

http://www.opentable.com/sauce

Pippali review

June 17, 2014August 11, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

There are two things I have to warn you about before you step foot into Peter Beck’s relatively new Indian bistro Pippali in Curry Hill: the one is the noise, and the other is the food! Chances are, you probably prefer the one over the other, but you will undoubtedly have to concern yourself with both. The combination of the understandable (yet unpredicted) popularity of this semi-subterranean dining room with woefully inadequate sound-absorption materials seems to recreate the chaos of the Bangalore railway station at rush hour. But be that as it may, if your waiter can manage to hear your order above the infernal roar, then you are in for one of the most exotic Indian treats this side of London.

Beck has successfully impressed New Yorkers with his inventive elevation of Indian classics into ultra modern culinary delicacies since he opened the Michelin star winning Tamarind in 2002. This new venue further permits him to take bold risks and blend western ingredients with Indian spices. While you might recognize some of the dishes by name on the vegevore/carnivore menu, the resulting flavors will most definitely surprise you.

Jaipuri Kofta

The spinach Samosas are bursting with lentils and humming with heat – which is broadened and softened by the orange chutney. There’s hardly any need to wonder why the Jaipuri Kofta is one of the most frequently ordered dishes. These too-good-to-be-true green pumpkin and chickpea meatless meatballs are steeped in garam masala with ginger and spinach, and arrive submerged in a sauce made from precisely the same ingredients! The incredibly plump and flavorful Chorchori Chingri (marinated shrimp) are sautéed in mustard seeds and a thick coconut cream. I was tempted to try the Batak Uttapam (black pepper hand rubbed duck breast with portabella mushrooms) but ultimately chose the incomparable Tabak Maz (grilled rack of lamb).

Grilled Rack of Lamb

Three succulent chops grilled to perfection with roasted aromatics that create an immaculate balance between taste, tang and tart – finished in a creamy saffron and fennel sauce, (the kind that if no-one was looking, you would bury your head deep into the plate and lick up every last drop!)

So don’t let the noise deter you. Just light some candles, put on some cool jazz, call Pippali and order in!

http://www.pippalinyc.com/

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Roger's Digest

FOOD. My favorite 4-letter F-word.

Year: 2014